DOCSLIB.ORG

FSU Immigrants in Canada: a Case of Positive Triple Selection?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
FSU Immigrants in Canada: a Case of Positive Triple Selection? IZA DP No. 4410 FSU Immigrants in Canada: A Case of Positive Triple Selection? Don DeVoretz Michele Battisti September 2009 DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor FSU Immigrants in Canada: A Case of Positive Triple Selection? Don DeVoretz Simon Fraser University and IZA Michele Battisti Simon Fraser University Discussion Paper No. 4410 September 2009 IZA P.O. Box 7240 53072 Bonn Germany Phone: +49-228-3894-0 Fax: +49-228-3894-180 E-mail: iza@iza.org Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4410 September 2009 ABSTRACT FSU Immigrants in Canada: A Case of Positive Triple Selection?* This paper investigates the economic performance of immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries in Canada. The contribution of this paper lies in its use of a natural experiment to detect possible differential labour market performances of Soviet immigrants prior to and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In short, the collapse of the former Soviet Union allows an exogenous supply change in the number and type of FSU immigrants potentially destined to enter Canada. For this purpose, Census microlevel data from the 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001 Canadian Census are utilized to estimate earnings and employment outcomes for pre- and post-FSU immigrants. JEL Classification: J61, F22 Keywords: immigration, integration Corresponding author: Michele Battisti Department of Economics Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive Burnaby, BC Canada E-mail: battisti@sfu.ca * We note with appreciation the copyediting services by M. Hayden of bestedit@shaw.ca and the financial support provided by the Research Authority, Ruppin Academic Centre, Israel. 3 Introduction The post-1990 rise in immigration in general to Canada and from two disparate formerly closed systems—the Soviet Union and China—may have led to profound changes in the paradigm of economic integration into Canada’s labour force. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, potential Soviet émigrés could not decide to move to Canada based on an open and easily transparent exit system. Thus, immigrants to Canada from the former Soviet Union (hereafter FSU) were largely designated by Canada as refugees and many came ill-equipped in terms of country-specific human capital to readily integrate into Canada’s labour market. Figure 1 Source: LIDS (Landed Immigrants Data System) from IMDB Immigration Database Figure 1 illustrates this point graphically. From 1980 through 1991 the distribution of FSU immigrants across entry gates was as follows: 58% refugees, 14.1% family class and 27.5% skilled class. 1 By the year 2000, refugees made up only 13.9% of the entrants with 63.9% of FSU immigrants now appearing in the skilled group. In short, prior to 1992 FSU émigrés to Canada were only self-selected from the refugee portion of the potential pool of all FSU émigrés, while after 1992 FSU immigrants entered under a double selection system. 1 The skilled class potential entrant is assessed under a “points system” which yielded points for human capital attributes. 3 4 Figure 2 Source: LIDS (Landed Immigrants Data System) from IMDB Immigration Database Figure 2 illustrates the uniqueness of the exogenous shock to FSU immigrant flow circa 1992-2001 when all immigrants to Canada had only a 5.3% drop in the proportion of refugees whilst the FSU immigrant share of refugees fell by 44.1%. Thus, after the fall of the FSU (as with China circa 1995), immigrants who left the FSU were drawn from a larger pool of potential movers with a different set of observable human capital attributes. This important policy change in the FSU should ultimately reveal itself in differential labour force outcomes of FSU immigrants in Canada after 1991 if our thesis of positive selection holds. After 1991, the immigrants’ initial positive self-selection was combined with a second level of selection as these FSU émigrés were subjected to a “points assessment” system which favoured the admission of FSU immigrants with human capital. 2 Thus, looking at the labour market performance of FSU immigrants entering before and after 1991 has the potential of shedding light on the effectiveness of Canada's selection process. The final or third selection process arises when the immigrant decides to ascend to Canadian citizenship or to remain a non-citizen. 3 2 Pivnenko and DeVoretz (2003) note that a majority of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada came through non-economic entry gates prior to 1991. 3 Pivnenko and DeVoretz (2006) document the positive effect of citizenship status on the labour market outcomes of Ukrainian immigrants. 4 5 It should be noted that traditionally only a portion of “points-assessed” immigrants self- select into citizenship, yet almost all refugees naturalize given their inability to return home. Given that refugees often feel compelled to naturalize, some of the economic premium owing to citizenship is often lost due to adverse selection; those FSU émigrés who arrived after 1991, however, were largely not refugees and should reveal a positive selection into citizenship since they were not compelled to naturalize. 4 In fact, we argue that only those post-1991 FSU émigrés who acquired additional Canadian-specific human capital will tend to naturalize and reap the labour market rewards from acquiring this human capital. In sum, the following thesis is offered in terms of the labour market integration of émigrés from the FSU into the Canadian context: prior to 1991, émigrés from the Soviet Union to Canada were singly selected by themselves and after 1991 the new cohort of FSU emigrants to Canada were often selected three times. This triple selection procedure in turn implies that a greater human capital stock will be embodied in this post-1991 cohort and would lead to more rapid integration into Canada’s labour market in the absence of discrimination or other forms of labour market failure. It is the purpose of this study to test this thesis in the context of a “gap analysis” in terms of income and employment. The traditional immigrant earnings literature owing to Chiswick (1978) argues that upon entry, immigrants suffer an earnings deficit due to the absence of specific and general (language, knowledge of institutions) human capital attributes. It was inferred by Chiswick from census data that over time—generally 8 to 12 years—immigrants overcame these human capital deficits by investing in themselves and their earnings subsequently “caught-up” to and then perhaps surpassed their Canadian-born colleagues. 4 Pivnenko and DeVoretz (2006) verify this empirically for all Canadian refugees circa 2006 in Canada. 5 6 Figure 3: Idealised Age-Earnings Profile Figure 3 depicts the “gap” hypothesis from both optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints. Given our thesis of “triple selection” we would expect that Figure 1 would apply to highly skilled FSU émigrés to Canada since increased observable human capital attributes owing to triple selection should hasten the diminution in the earnings gap and may lead to its complete evaporation at X. Beyond X, in the optimistic case the immigrant now can overachieve with respect to their Canadian-born cohort’s earnings performance. However, if there exist “unobservable” factors which intervene in this process of labour market integration, the case of underachieving may arise. These “unobservables” include inhibitions on the immigrant’s desire to self-select into the labour market, employer discrimination of the immigrant’s human capital characteristics (i.e. foreign education) and discounting their foreign labour market experience. It is this “gap” framework as depicted in Figure 1 which will inform our labour market integration analysis given the triple selection thesis outlined above. It should be noted that FSU immigrants may achieve over- or under-achievement status depending on the presence or absence of unobservable factors. Literature Review Canadian literature on the economics of immigration provides an extensive empirical immigrant labour market integration (Reitz, 2001). The literature has largely focused on Canadian immigrant earnings’ performance in general but a series of in-depth studies based on the immigrants’ country of origin have recently appeared. Two major findings from the general Canadian immigrant earnings experience appear to date. First, an age 6 7 earnings profile analysis based on a human capital model
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Permit Times for Mining Exploration: How Long Are They? Fraserinstitute.Org Contents
    FEBRUARY 2016 Kenneth P. Green and Taylor Jackson Permit Times for Mining Exploration: How Long are They? fraserinstitute.org Contents Executive summary / i Introduction / 1 Permits, Competitiveness, and Investment / 3 Survey Design / 10 Results / 14 Conclusions / 20 References / 21 About the authors / 24 Acknowledgments / 24 Publishing information / 25 Supporting the Fraser Institute / 26 Purpose, funding, and independence / 26 About the Fraser Institute / 27 Editorial Advisory Board / 28 fraserinstitute.org fraserinstitute.org Permit Times for Mining Exploration: How Long Are They? / i Executive summary Since 1997, the Fraser Institute has collected information from mining company executives around the world, who evaluate mining policies in jurisdictions worldwide. One theme that regularly appears in the com- ments we receive as part of that survey is a perception that permit-times— the length of time it takes to get approval for mining exploration—has grown longer and more onerous over time. In our 2015 survey, we added supplementary questions to explore this question. In this first study, they were limited to Canadian jurisdictions. In general, based on the perceptions of respondents, there is room for improvement across Canada. Ontario appears to be a laggard. Re- spondents indicated that not only were they waiting longer to receive their permits there than in competing provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec, but Ontario also offered less transparency and certainty through- out the permitting process. Northwest Territories and Nunavut also need to improve. At the other end of the scale is Saskatchewan, which tended to perform relatively well when it comes to limiting the time it takes to receive permits, as well as ensuring that the process is highly transparent.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Do Immigrants from Hong Kong to Canada Stay Or Leave?
    WHY DO IMMIGRANTS FROM HONG KONG TO CANADA STAY OR LEAVE? Nuowen Deng B.A., Simon Fraser University, 2004 PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of Economics O Nuowen Deng 2007 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2007 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Nuowen Deng Degree: M. A. (Economics) Title of Project: Why Do Immigrants From Hong Kong To Canada Stay Or Leave? Examining Committee: Chair: Ken Kasa Don Devoreb Senior Supervisor Alex Karaivanov Supervisor Steeve Mongrain Internal Examiner Date Approved: Tuesday, January 23,2007 .. 11 SIMON FRASER UNIVE~IW~ibrary DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http:llir.lib.sfu.calhandlell8921112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesislproject or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards Healthier Indigenous Health Policies? Navigating the Labyrinth
    Volume 2 | Issue 1 | Article 4 – Gabel, DeMaio, & Powell Towards healthier Indigenous health policies? Navigating the labyrinth for answers Volume 2 | Issue 1 and the efforts of the Canadian government to form collaborative arrangements between Article 4, June 2017 Indigenous communities, organisations and Chelsea A. Gabel government? What does an inclusive and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada comprehensive Indigenous community- controlled health care system look like? The Peter DeMaio purpose of this article is to explore how McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Indigenous people and community stakeholders in Canada understand terms such as self- Alicia Powell determination and health and draw conclusions McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada about collaborative efforts between the government and Indigenous communities to Abstract support community-controlled health care. It further explores participant narratives and This research is based on two years of describes their experiences, particularly, the community-based participatory research that strengths and weaknesses of community- draws on Indigenous understandings of health government health policy developments. policy in five First Nations in Ontario, Canada. While a number of policies have been put in place Keywords: Indigenous people, North America, to increase Indigenous control over community health and wellbeing, health care administration, health services, we argue that policies enacted to health policy/policy analysis, social promote Indigenous self-determination in health equality/inequality, self-determination, care have been counterproductive and qualitative research. detrimental to Indigenous health and wellbeing. Instead, we suggest that Indigenous health policy Acknowledgements. We would like to thank exists on a continuum and aim to balance the the five Indigenous communities, government need for including diverse Indigenous groups and non-government organisations for their with comprehensive control from program invaluable contributions to the research.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Solidarity Wave' on Canadian An
    ‘It’s Our Patriotic Duty to Help Them’: the Socio-Cultural and Economic Impact of the ‘Solidarity wave’ on Canadian and Polish- Canadian Society in the Early 1980s Michal Mlynarz, University of Alberta 56 | This paper examines the economic, social, and cultural impact made on Canadian and Polish-Canadian society as a result of the mass influx of refugees from the People’s Republic of Poland to Canada in the early to mid 1980s. Although a brief overview and examination of Polish immigration history to Canada over the last few centuries is provided, the paper focuses upon the significant effect caused by the arrival of a new wave of Polish immigrants, largely consisting of highly educated and politically vocal individuals, into the country. The paper argues that this period constituted a significant turning point in Polish-Canadian history. Throughout this period, Polish communities across the country organized and rallied around the plight of the refugees and their ancestral homeland in an unprecedented fashion, supporting them through a wide variety of means, including the mass organization of protests, food and medicine drives, and sponsorship schemes to bring in as many people as possible. Mainstream Canadian society was also made more aware of and became more involved in the issue, with both politicians and average citizens nation-wide lending their support to the cause. As a result of the unique socio-cultural nature of the refugees, the great level of support displayed by Polish-Canadians, and the significant level of sympathy and
    [Show full text]
  • Who Identifies with a National Ancestry Or Ethnicity
    Identifying with a National Ancestry or Ethnic Origin: A Comparative Study of Australia, Canada, and the U.S. by Sharon M. Lee and Barry Edmonston Department of Sociology and Population Research Group University of Victoria Victoria, BC, Canada August 6, 2009 Paper prepared for presentation at the XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference, September 27-October 2, 2009, Marrakech, Morocco. Please direct correspondence to Sharon M. Lee, sml@uvic.ca . Identifying with a National Ancestry or Ethnic Origin: A Comparative Study of Australia, Canada, and the U.S. Sharon M. Lee and Barry Edmonston Department of Sociology and Population Research Group University of Victoria Victoria, BC, Canada Abstract In ethnically diverse societies such as Australia, Canada, and the United States, ethnic population trends are understandably of great interest. Recently, there is a growing trend towards identifying with a national ethnicity or ancestry, such as “Australian” in Australia, “Canadian” in Canada, and “American” in the United States. The 1996 Canadian census showed that 29 percent of the population reported “Canadian” ethnic origin, a proportion that increased to 37 percent in the 2001 census. In Australia, 38 percent of the population reported their ancestry as “Australian” in the 2001 census, an increase from 24 percent in 1986. And in the United States, 9 percent of the population reported “American” ancestry in the 2000 Census compared with 6 percent in 1990. We adopt an inductive research strategy in this comparative study. We examine microdata
    [Show full text]
  • Recent Immigration and the Formation of Visible Minority Neighbourhoods in Canada’S Large Cities
    Catalogue no. 11F0019MIE — No. 221 ISSN: 1205-9153 ISBN: 0-662-37031-7 Research Paper Research Paper Analytical Studies Branch research paper series Recent immigration and the formation of visible minority neighbourhoods in Canada’s large cities By Feng Hou Business and Labour Market Analysis Division 24-F, R.H. Coats Building, Ottawa, K1A 0T6 Telephone: 1 800 263-1136 This paper represents the views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Statistics Canada. Recent immigration and the formation of visible minority neighbourhoods in Canada’s large cities by Feng Hou 11F0019MIE No. 221 ISSN: 1205-9153 ISBN: 0-662-37031-7 Business and Labour Market Analysis Division 24-F, R.H. Coats Building, Ottawa, K1A 0T6 Statistics Canada How to obtain more information : National inquiries line: 1 800 263-1136 E-Mail inquiries: infostats@statcan.ca July 2004 A part of this paper was presented at the conference on Canadian Immigration Policy for the 21st Century, October 18-19, 2002, Kingston, Ontario. Many thanks to Eric Fong, Mike Haan, John Myles, Garnett Picot, and Jeff Reitz for their constructive comments and suggestions. This paper represents the views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Statistics Canada. Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada © Minister of Industry, 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission from Licence Services, Marketing Division, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0T6.
    [Show full text]
  • A Primer for Understanding Issues Around Rural Poverty
    The Community Development Institute A UNBC Community Development Institute Publication University of Northern British Columbia “Northern Strength to A Primer For Northern Understanding Issues Around Strength.” Rural Poverty By Greg Halseth The Community and Laura Ryser Development Institute at UNBC 3333 University Way Prince George, BC CANADA V2N 4Z9 www.unbc.ca/cdi _____________________________________________ A Peer Reviewed Publication © Copyright The Community Development Institute at UNBC UNBC: Prince George, BC, CANADA A Primer for Understanding Issues Around Rural Poverty Prepared for: The Community Development Institute Greg Halseth and Laura Ryser Geography Program University of Northern British Columbia September 2010 About the Authors Laura Ryser is the Research Manager for the Rural and Small Town Studies Program at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her research focuses on economic and social restructuring in rural and small town places, with a specific interest in rural poverty, organizational change and institutional capacity, and innovative approaches to delivering services in small places. Greg Halseth is a Professor in the Geography Program at the University of Northern British Columbia, where he is also the Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies and the Director of the UNBC Community Development Institute. His research focuses on the economic and social transitions occurring in resource-based towns. 2 A Primer for Understanding Issues Around Rural Poverty About this Report Poverty remains an important, but complex and challenging research, policy, and lived world issue. In northern BC, communities have been exposed to mounting pressures stemming from the economic recession, fluctuating commodity prices, poor conditions on Aboriginal reserves, the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic, the mobility of capital, and labour restructuring.
    [Show full text]
  • Colour Coded Health Care the Impact of Race and Racism on Canadians’ Health
    Colour Coded Health Care The Impact of Race and Racism on Canadians’ Health Sheryl Nestel PhD January, 2012 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sheryl Nestel received her PhD from the Department of Sociology and Equity Studies of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto where she taught between 2000-2011. She is the author of numerous journal articles on race and the health pro- fessions as well as of Obstructed Labour: Race and Gender in the Re-emergence of Midwif- ery (UBC Press, 2007) which was recognized as the book of the year for 2007 by the Canadian Women’s Studies Association. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to the reviewers for their thoughtful comments on the paper. The views, analysis and interpretation of this review remain those of the author. Copies of this report can be downloaded from www.wellesleyinstitute.com. © 2012 Wellesley Institute Wellesley Institute 10 Alcorn Ave, Suite 300, Toronto, ON m4y 1s2 tel 416-972-1010 fax 416-921-7228 www.wellesleyinstitute.com The Wellesley Institute engages in research, policy and community mobilization to advance population health. wellesley institute 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Scope and Purpose of the Review ............................................................................................ 4 Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 4 The Concept of Race and Its Relationship to Health Outcomes ........................................ 5 Terminology: “Race,” “Ethnicity,” and “Race/Ethnicity”
    [Show full text]
  • Cohort Profile: the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts (Canchecs)
    Catalogue no. 82-003-X ISSN 1209-1367 Health Reports Cohort profile: The Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts (CanCHECs) by Michael Tjepkema, Tanya Christidis, Tracey Bushnik and Lauren Pinault Release date: December 18, 2019 How to obtain more information For information about this product or the wide range of services and data available from Statistics Canada, visit our website, www.statcan.gc.ca. You can also contact us by email at STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca telephone, from Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the following numbers: • Statistical Information Service 1-800-263-1136 • National telecommunications device for the hearing impaired 1-800-363-7629 • Fax line 1-514-283-9350 Depository Services Program • Inquiries line 1-800-635-7943 • Fax line 1-800-565-7757 Standards of service to the public Note of appreciation Statistics Canada is committed to serving its clients in a prompt, Canada owes the success of its statistical system to a reliable and courteous manner. To this end, Statistics Canada has long-standing partnership between Statistics Canada, the developed standards of service that its employees observe. To citizens of Canada, its businesses, governments and other obtain a copy of these service standards, please contact Statistics institutions. Accurate and timely statistical information could not Canada toll-free at 1-800-263-1136. The service standards are be produced without their continued co-operation and goodwill. also published on www.statcan.gc.ca under “Contact us” > “Standards of service to the public.” Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2019 All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • American Badger,Taxidea Taxus
    COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the American Badger Taxidea taxus jacksoni subspecies (Taxidea taxus jacksoni) jeffersonii subspecies / Eastern population (Taxidea taxus jeffersonii) jeffersonii subspecies / Western population (Taxidea taxus jeffersonii) taxus subspecies (Taxidea taxus taxus) in Canada jacksoni subspecies - ENDANGERED jeffersonii subspecies / Eastern population - ENDANGERED jeffersonii subspecies / Western population - ENDANGERED taxus subspecies - SPECIAL CONCERN 2012 COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC. 2012. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the American Badger Taxidea taxus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. iv + 63 pp. (www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default_e.cfm). Previous report(s): COSEWIC. 2000. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the American badger Taxidea taxus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 29 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Newhouse, N., and T. Kinley. 2000. Update COSEWIC status report on the American badger Taxidea taxus in Canada, in COSEWIC assessment and status report on the American badger Taxidea taxus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 1-29 pp. Stardom, R.P. 1979. COSEWIC status report on American badger Taxidea taxus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 31 pp. Production note: COSEWIC would like to acknowledge Ian Adams, Danielle Ethier, and Josh Sayers for writing the status report on the American Badger (Taxidea taxus) in Canada, prepared under contract with Environment Canada. This report was overseen and edited by Graham Forbes, Co-chair of the COSEWIC Terrestrial Mammals Specialist Subcommittee.
    [Show full text]
  • Income Disparities in Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy for Canadian Adults
    Component of Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-003-X Health Reports Article Income disparities in health- adjusted life expectancy for Canadian adults, 1991 to 2001 by Cameron N. McIntosh, Philippe Finès, Russell Wilkins and Michael C. Wolfson November, 2009 Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 82-003-XPE • Health Reports, Vol. 20, no. 4, December 2009 55 Income disparities in health-adjusted life expectancy for Canadian adults, 1991 to 2001 • Research Article Income disparities in health- adjusted life expectancy for Canadian adults, 1991 to 2001 by Cameron N. McIntosh, Philippe Finès, Russell Wilkins and Michael C. Wolfson Abstract he dramatic increase in life expectancy in Background Canada and other economically developed Health-adjusted life expectancy is a summary T measure of population health that combines mortality and morbidity data into a single index. nations during the last century stands as testimony This article profi les differences in health-adjusted life expectancy across income categories for a to the success of improvements in public health and representative sample of the Canadian population. 1 Data and methods advances in medical care. But despite these gains Mortality data were obtained from the 1991-2001 Canadian census mortality follow-up study, in longevity, inequalities in health outcomes across which linked a 15% sample of the 1991 adult non-institutional population with 11 years of death records from the Canadian Mortality Data Base. different subpopulations are still pervasive in Canada Information on morbidity was obtained from the 2-6 Health Utilities Index Mark 3 instrument on the and other industrialized countries. 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey.
    [Show full text]
  • Conclusion 9/18/07 9:50 AM Page 647
    26 Conclusion 9/18/07 9:50 AM Page 647 647 Keith Banting, Thomas J. Courchene and F. Leslie Seidle Conclusion: Diversity, Belonging and Shared Citizenship N THIS VOLUME, LEADING SCHOLARS HAVE EXPLORED TWO BROAD POLICY AGENDAS I generated by ethnic diversity in Canada and other Western countries. The first agenda is the multicultural agenda, which seeks to recognize cultural differences, to help minorities express their distinct identities and practices, and to build more accommodating conceptions of citizenship. The second agenda focuses on inte- gration, seeking to bring minorities into the mainstream, strengthen the sense of mutual support and solidarity, and reinforce the bonds of a common community. Most Western countries have pursued both agendas, to a greater or lesser degree, in recent decades. There is nothing inherently contradictory in the two agendas. Indeed, research by psychologists concludes that the most successful forms of immigrant integration occur when newcomers retain a sense of their her- itage culture and seek involvement in the larger society, suggesting that govern- ments should encourage both forms of community (Berry et al. 2006). In contemporary debates, however, many countries are shifting to a heavier empha- sis on integration. This pattern is particularly marked in Europe, as the chapters by Christian Joppke and Randall Hansen highlight. Many Europeans fear that multiculturalism has bred separateness and cultural alienation, including among some children of immigrants born and raised in the West. In the United Kingdom, for example, Trevor Phillips, the head of the Commission for Racial Equality and himself a Black Briton, has warned that Britain is in danger of “sleep- walking into segregation” (T.
    [Show full text]